All Posts by jerry hildenbrand

Lenovo's latest convertible Chromebook could be the one you're looking for
We're starting to see new Chromebooks explode onto retail shelves, and presumably the sales figures are still climbing as well or they wouldn't be there. There are some really great budget options that bring an experience that plenty of people both enjoy and find suitable for their needs, but what is lacking is that mid...

A whole bunch of us, that's who
Earlier in the week we put forth the question — Did you preorder your Galaxy Note 4? The results show an even bigger interest in Samsung's latest than even we thought — a full 27-percent of those who answered have already done just that and put their name on a Note 4 of their very own.

Make your Android fast again — it *is* possible
We've all been there. You have a fancy, new, highly complex Android-powered computational device that can do everything from checking your email to surfing the web to controlling your microwave so your popcorn doesn't burn. It's shiny, and screaming fast while doing all the things we wanted it to do. Everything is roses all around.
Fast forward...

NVIDIA is sending out another update for the Shield Tablet today. This time around, you can expect some bug fixing, and some enhancements to network software and the Shield Hub software. The official changelog is below.

Take my money
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 release is mere weeks away, and we expect plenty of folks will soon be holding one of their own once we see it on shelves. But some of us already know we have to have one, and have jumped on the preorder bus. It's always fun to try and gauge the popularity of any device based on preorder numbers, so we're going to join in.
Hit the poll below, and let us...

In case you missed it, the fine folks over at the Tech Informist had our very own Phil Nickinson as a guest on their weekly show earlier. Be sure to check it out and grab a look at an hour or so of talk about Android, and all things tech as hosts JJ Hammond and Kevin Harvell, and of course Phil, pass on a little knowledge and commentary.
The Tech Informist — episode five

Google is redesigning the way we'll see ads on our devices, making things easier for developers to deliver ads that are both relevant and look good. In the past, it's been easier to try and shrink down an ad to fit onto a phone or tablet, but these new formats (rolling out during the next few months) should change all that.

Check out the apps we're using this week
We're back with another round of weekly app recommendations so we can share the apps we love, the new apps we're trying, or the apps we think are worth taking a second look at. In other words, if we think it's interesting, we'll share it here.
Apps are a big part of the smartphone experience, and the Google Play store brings a huge number of them into...

Everyone loves Google Play Music, but Spotify makes a strong showing
Earlier in the week, we asked everyone to help us find alternatives to Google Play Music All Access. We're all either at, or very near to, the device limit and we need our music. We've fussed and complained about the device authorization and de-authorization limits, but Google and the music companies aren't likely to change...

Vote in this week's poll and tell us your favorite!
We've been having a bit of discussion around the water cooler that past week. It seems we (the editors here at AC) have all hit the device de-authorization limit for Google Play Music. That means, for the next year we're stuck and can't use the service on any new devices we happen to pick up for a review or for our own use.
We understand...

There's more there than USB debugging
Hidden in the settings on your phone, (really, they are hidden by default) are settings used for debugging and application development. While plenty of us have dove in there to switch to the ART runtime or to enable USB debugging, there's a long list of options. While most of us will never use them, it's always nice to know what's going on under the hood...

It's all about the apps
We've rounded up the apps we are using the most this week, and we are here to share! Everyone uses apps. Some of us have a lot of them installed, some of us just a few, but for all of us the multitude of apps in the Google Play store usually has anything we would want or need. The trick is finding the ones we didn't know we wanted or needed.
App discovery is a science...

Having the right mobile network settings makes a difference
Two or three years ago, any smartphone fan in the U.S. would have called you crazy if you were to predict how the telecom networks have changed. Verizon and Sprint have phones that can run on AT&T or T-Mobile, cheap pre-paid plans give you as much or more than any of the big four for less money, and people are starting to move...

AC readers have spoken - and we love us some metal
We're having a hard time deciding which Moto 360 look we like best — the leather strap or the metal bracelet. Both have their merits, both have their drawbacks. Get hot and sweaty, or pull the hair on your arm every time you reach for something. Yeah, yeah — first world problems for sure.
Seeing the Pebble Steel band on the 360 makes the...

LG's additions to Android's accessibility settings are notable and helpful
Modern smartphones, like the LG G3, are built for everyone in mind. That means folks who get up every morning, strap on their FitBit and go for a run, as well as those who just need a bit of help holding something small and slippery like a smartphone in their hands. We're not all built the same or can perform the same...

While the majority of us aren't busy updating to iOS 8 today, we know there's a pretty big group of folks that have an Apple product or two, and probably want to know more about what's new, how it all works, and why we want to update to Apple's newest version. That's where Rene and his crew over at iMore come into the picture. They've been going on no sleep and Red Bull for a few days, and they...

Google has released the full GPL kernel source for Android One devices running KitKat. Announced on the Android Building Google Group, Bill Yi tells us that "the kernel source can be found on the android-msm-sprout-3.4-kitkat-mr2 branch in the kernel/msm project. It's also tagged with 'android-4.4.4_r3'."

Google is pushing out a new version of Google Play Services today. The update looks to be a pretty basic affair, with enhancements to the Google Analytics API and the Google Drive API, but changes to the Google Fit API means we have a new version of the L developer preview with the latest Google Fit API included.

With today's pre-order-slash-release of the AT&T and unlocked "Pure" edition of the new Moto X 2014, we know that a lot of us are going to be making great looking designs for our new phones. So wood. Much leather.
The forums is a great place to share yours, as well as see what other like-minded people are doing. Even if you didn't order, feel free to get creative and show off your best...

Google's TalkBack service is a great way for the vision-impaired to use all of Android's features
Most of us take being able to see everything on our high-resolution Androids for granted. We peep at pixels, discuss the merits of display technology to death, and even tend to turn our nose up at devices that don't have the ultra-high-res "true" HD screens some of today's flagships offer. But...

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